Once upon a time, there was a huge oak tree standing in the forest. He would always boast about his size and strength and say that he is the king of the forest. All the other plants and trees would watch the oak and see how vain he was. All of them knew that his pride would be his undoing. The oak tree was oldest among everyone in the forest and so no one dared to say anything to him.
One day, the skies grew dark and a cool breeze started to blow. After some time, the breeze turned into strong winds and the branches of the oak tree started to shake with leaves falling here and there. The mighty oak tree laughed and mocked the wind for being so weak. He then turned to the reeds who were shaking due to the wind near him on the ground and spoke to them in a condescending tone saying that they should stand strong like him. The reeds in turn replied that it was better to bend and surrender to the power of nature instead of facing her wrath. The mighty oak laughed in their faces and said that they were foolish.
The sky grew black and the winds blew ferociously. Many trees started to fall in the forest and the mighty oak never missed a chance to mock them. The reeds too fluttered wildly in the winds. The winds only grew stronger and soon there was a full fledged storm in the forest. Trees fell everywhere in all directions and the wind howled with all its might. The oak laughed at the storm and the reeds as well. The reeds did not pay any heed to the oak, but instead just surrendered to the forces of mother nature and swayed along with the storm.
A deafening cracking noise was soon heard all across the forest as the mighty oak tree started to fall towards one side. He tried and tried with all his might but he could not balance himself and soon he fell to the ground with a thundering crash. As he lay down, he knew that he was undone by his pride and arrogance. The storm subsided and to the surprise of the fallen oak tree, he saw that the reeds were still standing. The reeds then saw the fallen oak tree and said that he should have been humble instead of acting all high and mighty.
Moral - One must always be humble no matter how strong or capable they are.